Trip reports

Two Tree Island and Wallasea Island

Sunday, 15 November 2015

13 Members made the trip to Two Trees Island near Southend-on sea on a windy but bright morning. First sights of winter were showing with a flyover fieldfare from the carpark and the walk along the mudflats produced redshank, little egret and curlew feeding in the mud.

We made our way to the scrape where we had good views of teal, wigeon and shoveler feeding out in front of the hide. Hightlights were a nice selection of waders with a group of three greenshanks feeding with some redshanks, black-tailed godwits and a few well hidden snipe. As the tide came in more waders came in with avocets flying in off the main estuary joined by feeding curlews giving some good views with shelduck and big flock of knots seen flying around. Further down the estuary a flock of brent geese were feeding in the mud with ringed plovers and dunlins and a few oystercatchers.

After lunch a few of us headed to the new reserve of Wallasea Island which is been made from the soil of the crossrail work in London. From the carpark here we had nice views of a male stonechat and a hunting kestrel. We then walked along the seawall were we saw more waders with turnstone, sanderling, knot. lapwing, golden plovers and grey plover sheltering from the high tide. As we walked along a peregrine came and spooked the waders before showing well on a pylon to end a fine day.